Philippines premier airport runway closed due to crack

Manila, July 18 (IANS) The Philippines airport authorities on Monday suspended the operation of a runway at its premier airport due to a crack.

The closure of runway 06 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport led to the diversion of at least 22 flights to Clark International Airport in northern province of Pampanga, Xinhua news agency reported.

Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Ed Monreal ordered the temporary closure of the runway to avoid safety issues and untoward incidents to aircraft and passengers.

“The small asphalt cracks observed by airport crew in the morning got considerably bigger due to continued landing and take off,” Monreal said.

The crack in the asphalt overlay of the runway was five inches deep, one metre wide and nine metres long, he said.

“But to avoid further deterioration, a bigger area of four metre by 19 metre will undergo construction,” he explained.

The airport management hoped to reopen the runway by 11.00 p.m. (local time) on Monday.